Dane
County’s stay-at-home order has been extended through the winter months and likely into 2021. Here are the ways the Unemployment
Appeals Clinic has adjusted to these circumstances:
First, what is the clinic and are we a group that could help you?
The Unemployment Compensation Appeals Clinic is a small non-profit staffed by volunteer law students and local supervising attorneys. We have one student manager who helps organize the clinic evenings, with all of our appointments scheduled through United Way (contactable by calling 211). We help specifically with unemployment appeals, not issues pertaining to applications or delayed determinations.
The clinic will operate remotely every Monday this summer
Normally
the clinic takes place in person at the Labor Temple at 1602 S. Park Street in
Madison, WI. However, due to the ongoing coronavirus situation, the clinic will
now operate remotely, every Monday from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM, with all
appointments conducted over the phone. We will be running the clinic remotely
until we feel it is safe to meet in person again, regardless if any state or
local orders are lifted.
You
can make an appointment through United Way by calling
211. Virtual “walk-ins,” or last-minute additions to the
schedule, are welcome! If you have questions about the clinic you can call the Unemployment Appeals Clinic phone service at (608)-255-5909
and leave a voicemail. Give your name and phone number as well as a description
of your issue so the Administrator can call you back.
Once
scheduled, you will receive an email from the Administrator explaining the
remote clinic process. If you have documents connected with your appeal, such
as an initial determination letter from the Department of Workforce Development,
the Administrator will provide instructions on sending those documents to unemploymentclinic@gmail.com so they can be forwarded to assisting
staff. Please be aware that the documents you send will be forwarded to law
students serving as advocates so that they can review them while talking to you
on the phone. Your documents will be kept confidential, but as an extra
precaution please cover up or cross out any sensitive personal
information contained in the documents such as social security numbers,
birthdates, etc. before sending them.
On
Monday, the administrator will call you to confirm your attendance at the
clinic that evening.
Stay
by the phone from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM on Monday, as you will be receiving a call
from a student advocate. The advocate will perform an intake interview to learn
more about the issues you are facing. The clinic primarily offers assistance to people who have
applied for and been denied unemployment benefits. If you have not received a
determination from the Department of Workforce Development stating that you are
ineligible to receive benefits, we can answer your questions, but our ability
to provide assistance will be limited. Our primary purpose is to help people
who have been denied benefits and wish to appeal their denial. The student advocate
can then advise you over the phone on the appeals process and your specific
case. If your issues go beyond what the advocate can answer, they can add a supervising
attorney to the call to get more insight.
We
have more appointments than ever before, so it may take some time to connect
with the supervising attorney. The student advocate may ask to hang up for a
brief period in order to move on to another client intake interview. Do not worry,
the advocate will call you back in a timely manner.
Advocates are not able to represent every client who attends the clinic
Advocates
are not able to represent every client who attends the clinic. The decision to represent a client is made at the advocates discretion, and will be clearly communicated to the client.
Even if an advocate cannot offer you their services at an appeal hearing, they can advise you on how best to proceed with an appeal, as well as point to
resources that give guidance on the subject. An appeal is something a lay
person can do on their own. All appeal hearings are being conducted over the
phone currently.
Unfortunately,
the Department of Workforce Development is extremely backlogged right now, so
it is possible that it will be several weeks before your claim is resolved. The
clinic cannot make the process go any faster. You can call the DWD at (608)-266-3131 for an update on your claim’s status. Due to the high call volume it
may take some time to get connected with claims specialist, but the DWD is
still the best place to go for an update on your claim.
Check out our
original tips for filing here
